Last Call
by Vivian Tanner
Summary: How many times can this sweet girl from Purgatory be there for a drunk and hurting Chris before it gets to be too much? How many times can she take care of him at night and then return him to Mary and the others when the sun comes up? When is it to Many?


**Title: **Last Call

**Author:** Vivian Tanner

**Rating: **T

**Main Characters: **Maria, with some appearances by Chris and Others

**Summary: **_How many times can this sweet girl from Purgatory be there for a drunk and hurting Chris before it gets to be too much? How many times can she take care of him at night and then return him to Mary and the others when the sun comes up before she decides she wants the sun too? What will be to many times seeing him drunk when she really just wants to see him sober?_

**Disclaimer: **Don't own these boys or their friends and family, wish I did, but much to my dismay I do not. Just thought I'd take them out for a ride or two or three. I promise to return them to their rightful owners unharmed.

**A/N: **I was listening to the radio the other day and heard this song for the first time. I thought the lyrics were beautiful and could really inspire a lovely story. Ruby and I talked about it and decided that the story of Maria and Chris was one that really hasn't seen enough stories. So after listening to this song again I felt that this really did tell the story of their relationship, sadly. _Last Call _performed by Lee Ann Womack, lyrics by Erin Enderlin & Shane L. Mcanally.

**Last Call**

I recognized your number

It's burned into my brain

Felt my heart beating faster

Every time it rang

Some things never change

That's why I didn't answer

_I knew I would be seeing the senior, how could I not plan on it. The date was February 11__th__, three days till Valentine's Day. This is one of the times during the year I saw Senior Chris a lot. He shows up the most around holidays, especially this one. _

Maria had been making her way through the town of Purgatory when she found him, just like she always did. There in a corner of the darkest saloon sat Chris Larabee by himself with a bottle of Red Eye. She considered moving on, find work in one of the other saloons, but then she took one look at his face, saw the hurt in his sea foam eyes and headed over.

"Perhaps the senior would like to buy a lady a drink?" With any of the other regulars Maria would have said something different but with the quiet peacekeeper she had never been treated like anything but a lady. "Or maybe we could return to mi casa for dinner? Have you eating Senior Chris?"

Maria waited for a second before reaching down to give the struggling man a hand up from his sit. Like in times past the gunslinger had been desperate to drown the memories of his late wife and child, so much that he was now almost incapable of moving on his own. To help him keep the appearance of being the most dangerous man in the room Maria had learned how to walk with him leaning on her in a way that his gun was still in view and easy to draw quickly, even though she knew he was to drunk to shoot straight. The image that everyone else in the saloon would see was that he was holing her up on their way back to her place.

Ten minutes later Maria found herself at the door to her hacienda. It only took a few moments and the pretty senorita had Chris lying under the covers, his gun within reach the way he liked. She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment watching the gunslinger sleep. He looked so young when sleeping, so much more at peace, but Maria had been through this before so she knew what was coming. Deciding she wanted to be ready Maria quickly went through her nightly routine, checking twice tonight that the doors and windows were locked.

When she was sure that everything was locked, and she was ready to get some sleep she headed over to the bed. This was another trick that she had learned since meeting this blond dark angel. She would just hold him tonight, nothing else. She would be there when his demons emerged from the shadows of his dreams. She would comfort him when he called out for a woman Maria had never met but had grown to feel a friendship for through this man.

Yes tonight she would be his rock and shelter in the storm. Then tomorrow he would thank her through his kindness, his gentle caresses and his friendship. For the next few days Maria would feel loved and cherished, then like every time before it would end when one of his friends would ride into town and remind him of his life and duty back at Four Corners.

Maria wasn't sure if it was due to it being so close to Valentine's Day or because they had been at this same routine for almost three years now, but as she laid there watching him sleep she found herself praying that this time they didn't come after him; that this time he would tell the messenger to tell the others good-bye for him and stay with her.

This, however, wasn't meant to be, the next afternoon his friend, the one who looked more Indian then white came to get him. For a second it looked liked Chris was going to say no, but then he heard what was wrong. He barely said good bye as he rode off to Four Corners. Maria didn't hear the tracker's quiet '_Sorry Miss' _her mind keep replaying what he had said before, the one thing that could always make Chris leave.

_"Sorry Cowboy, but ya need to come back to town . . . Chris its Mary, she's been hurt, Nathan says its bad."_

Mary, the blond newspaper woman from town, Maria had never meet her, but she had seen her once when she rode into Purgatory a few years back to get Chris to return. Maria had known from that day on that Mary Travis was the one thing she could never compete with when it came to Chris's feelings. No he would always leave for that woman.

I bet you're in a bar

Listening to a country song

Glass of Johnny Walker Red

With no one to take you home

They're probably closing down

Saying, "No more alcohol"

I bet you're in a bar

'Cause I'm always your last call

I don't need to check that message

I know what it says

"Baby, I still love you"

Don't mean nothing when there's whiskey on your breath

That's the only love I get

So if you're calling

_Six months since I've seen the senior I've heard from travelers that Mary Travis recovered, it was a long process but she did recover and is back to her old self. This is the longest I've gone between visits by Senior Chris and I have started thinking . . . Maybe I do not need him to come back. Unfortunately for me he does not feel the same. _

The 1st of July was not a date of importance to anyone, well no one but Chris Larabee. Again the memories of Sarah and Adam are just too strong; the whole town was getting ready for the 4th of July. He knew Mary meant nothing by it, had no idea what she'd done, but when she started in on how much Billy liked the fireworks he had to get away, it was to much like . . . like Sarah. After telling Vin, Buck and Ezra, the three that always understood his need to get away once and awhile, Chris headed off to a place he knew would in no way make him remember what he'd lost.

Now he found himself sitting in the same dark saloon he always visited at Purgatory trying to decide what to do. He knew Maria wasn't his, but he had to admit that it had caught him by surprise when he arrived in town just in time to see her lead some stranger into her home. _What were you thinking that she waited for you whenever you went back to town?_

He may not be able to spend time with Maria, but he could still get down to the business of forgetting the memories that lead him here. This is why Maria found him hours later at her front door drunk and crying. Not crying for his late wife and son, not crying for his friends or Mary Travis, but crying because she had not come for him. He had sat in the saloon, sat at his table waiting and she had not come.

Like always Maria wanted to turn him away, but when she saw the hurt in those eyes of jade she found her heart melting, and once again reached her undoing. She knew she should have turned him away, but she didn't, when it came down to it the pretty senorita enjoyed feeling needed. Maria knew that this was the last time though, not because of anything Chris had said but because she would tell him so. That night after Larabee had fallen asleep Maria knew that she was ready to let him go, and that the gunslinger was ready to move on. That night while Maria watched her weathered angel sleep, he didn't cry out for Sarah or Adam like she had come to expect him to, instead he dreamed of talking to Mary Travis and taking Billy fishing. Yes Maria knew that the peacekeeper's mind may not think he was ready to move on, but his heart was saying different.

That night Maria decided she would not wait for the town of Four Corners to come looking for Chris Larabee, she would take him back to them, and then she too would move on. She had been in Purgatory most of her life it was time to see somewhere new, if she was not there to catch him when he fell anymore perhaps he would quite falling, or learn to let someone else catch him. Yes she would pack her things, get him ready, take him back to his companions and move on from there.

Plan in place and her heart set on her goal, Maria went out into the night to get things ready for tomorrow.

I bet you're in a bar

Listening to a cheatin' song

Glass of Johnny Walker Red

With no one to take you home

They're probably closing down

Saying, "No more alcohol"

I bet you're in a bar

'Cause I'm always your last call

Call me crazy but

I think maybe

We've had our last call

_I knew it would be hard to say goodbye to my life in Purgatory, not because I would miss the people or the life style. No I would miss the little bit of control and freedom I felt I had over my life. I knew as I drove the cart away from mi casa that I would be starting over somewhere. I planned on it being difficult to do that, I should have known that somehow this man would help with that, even if not directly._

Maria drove into town early that morning she had not planned to see anyone and was sure she would end up needing to look for one of Senior Larabee's friends. Instead she came to find his friends, the gambler and the one who looked Indian, sitting on the porch of the town's saloon.

When the two peacekeepers saw the cart turn onto the main street, it was not the pretty Mexican girl at the reins that got them to their feet but the sight of a familiar black horse tied to the back. The two jumped down to see what was going on, and saw Buck and JD heading over from the jail. Part way there JD turned and headed to Nathan's no doubt to get the healer should Chris be injured. The three that the group's leader had talked to before he'd taken off had given the other's the just of why he left but not the whole story. Being private men themselves the three had understood the gunslingers' need to leave like he did, this did not leave them though free of any fear for their friend.

"What happen?" Tanner was the first one to reach the wagon and realize that he knew the young lady. It was the girl that Chris visited in Purgatory.

"Nothing Senior, I just felt that Senior Chris had spent too many holidays away from his friends and loved ones." Maria had begun to climb out of the wagon like she normally would, but was caught by surprise when the fancy dressed southern peacekeeper reached up to help her down. "Um . . . thank you Senior . . . ?"

"It's Ezra my dear, Ezra P. Standish." He tipped his hat and flashed the damsel a gold laced smile.

"So nothing's wrong with Chris?" Buck was checking on his friend when he asked, from what he could see everything looked fine but he knew that could be wrong.

"Si Senior, he merely had one too many drinks last night. I was leaving this morning and wanted to make sure that the senior arrived home safely."

"You're leaving?" the tracker had been catching up the last three members of their group on the conversation so far when Maria's last statement caught him by surprise. "Where are you heading, if ya don't mind me askin'?"

"Of course I do not mind, I'm not sure where I am heading, I just felt it was time for me to move on." Maria watched as Buck and the larger man called Josiah lifted the group's leader out of the wagon. JD, the youngest one, had already taken Mr. Larabee's horse to the livery. "Once he has slept off last night you will see Senior Larabee is fine. He may not be pleased about returning home so soon but he will come to understand it is better this way."

"Better this way? Sounds like your leaving is going to be permanent?" As Maria spoke with Buck and Nathan about their friend's condition, Vin and Ezra quietly inspected the items on the young lady's wagon. It was obvious to the two men, both of whom had done their share of moving on, that the senorita meant to make this a permanent move. The randomness of the things she had packed though showed them that she truly had not planned much after getting Chris home. "Something happen in that hellhole that got you worried?"

"What? On, no senior . . . I just felt that some of the men I knew were getting too use to seeing me. They were using me as a way to avoid their lives; this is not health, no? To become dependent on a thing to heal ones pain? To some of them I was as important as their whiskey, and I rarely saw them before they'd had a bottle."

Everyone there saw the way her eyes lingered on Chris through the last part of her answer, and it became clear to them why she was really leaving. Before anyone could respond Maria turned and climbed back into the wagon to be on her way. Lucky for the six men who now felt the need to repay this woman for her kindness, Inez had come out of the saloon to see what the commotion was.

"Can you stay for breakfast?" Inez addressed the young woman. She had heard and saw what the others had, she had also saw the pain flash in the eyes of the other peacekeepers when they realized this woman was giving up everything she knew cause during the process of helping their friend, when they could not, she had become attached to something she could not have. "We were just getting ready to eat?"

Maria hesitated for a second, but seeing the honest kindness in Inez's eyes she decided to accept. "Si that would be nice."

"Why don't you go on in? The kid and I can take care of your wagon." Buck took the reins from Maria, as Ezra once again helped her out of the wagon.

"Perhaps the young lady would allow me the pleasure of escorting her to our morning repast?"

"Ez means he would like to walk you to breakfast." Vin had seen the look of confusion in those deep brown eyes, and decided to be her translator. "If he starts confusing you with those big words of his ya just let me know."

"Why Mr. Tanner I am appalled by that remark. How could I ever confuse a lady of such obvious character and intelligence?" Though his words sounded upset, Maria could tell by watching this was simply how these men interacted.

_Perhaps I should stay for breakfast, I could maybe learn what it is that keeps drawing Senior Larabee back when he always seems to be caused pain by these people._

I bet you're in a bar

It's always the same old song

The Johnny Walker Red

By now it's almost gone

But baby, I won't be there

To catch you when you fall

I bet you're in a bar

'Cause I'm always your last call

_I will never forget that breakfast, the day I drove into the town of Four Corners with Senior Larabee. The men that he calls his brothers convinced me to stay for breakfast. Then some how for lunch, by then Senior Larabee had woken up and would not allow me to leave without dinner. Little did I know that the seven, no nine Inez and Senioria Travis were involved as well, were keeping me in town until they could find a reason to get me to stay. I should probably be angry, but truth is I've never been happier then this last year._

~1 year and 2 days later~

"Come on guys we're going to miss the fireworks display!"

"Mr. Dunne I must inquire as to how we can miss the fireworks display when we are the ones manning the fireworks?" Ezra knew it was cruel, but after all this time he, like the others, still found it fun to harass the group's youngest member. "We must wait for the ladies, what kind of gentlemen would we be if we were to allow them to walk alone?"

"You were waiting for us Senior?"

"Of course dear lady, we did promise to escort you to the festivities, did we not?"

Ezra held his arm out to Maria, while Buck copied his actions with Inez. As the group headed out to the field they were joined by the other members of their family. The last to join the group were Chris, Mary and Billy. After waking up in Nathan's clinic over a year ago and several talks with his friends, which now included Maria, he came to realize what he was doing to his life and the lives of those around him. One particular conversation stayed with him till this day, and had been the one that got him to finally move forward in his relationship with Mary. Little did he know how much it had hurt the friend he had it with, but it had also helped them to move on.

_"Maria?"_

_"Si senior?"_

_"Why did you do it?"_

_"Do what senior?"_

_"Bring me back to town that day?"_

_Maria and Chris were the only two left in the saloon for the night. Buck had taken Inez to dinner, and Ezra was visiting Maude in Eagle Bend, leaving Maria in charge of the saloon. Chris had hung around till closing, but Maria had known something was wrong. He was still working on the drink she had poured him two hours ago. Deciding that the glass she was cleaning could wait, she headed over to his table to sit and talk with him._

_"I brought you home because I grew to care about you, I grew to have a respect for your loyalty and love to those people who you considered family. I brought you home because as much as I wanted you to stay with me there, I knew your place and future were here."_

_"How can you be so sure?" There it was the pain and hurt that always held her gaze to those sea foam green eyes. This time though, she knew that pain was from fear of what was to come, not a result of Red Eye and shadows of his past._

_"Ask yourself one simple question Senior Chris. If your wife Sarah was here, what would she want you to do? Move on and be happy, or hide in a bottle and the beds of strangers?"_

_"How is it you know me so well?"_

_"Because senior . . . I am a light sleeper and you talk in your dreams."_

**THE END**

**A/N: **What did you think? I always felt bad for Maria, she was such an interesting character, I had hoped they would have done more with her in the show. Please review . . . good, bad, all thoughts are welcomed.


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